


Epyllion

by Komorebi_reads



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Backstory, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Storytelling through Songs, yet this is not a songfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:47:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22422076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Komorebi_reads/pseuds/Komorebi_reads
Summary: A bard's tale, told in a series of private songs.Inspired by Jaskier's first wish to the djinn and the question: who is Valdo Marx and why does Jaskier want him dead so badly?
Relationships: Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia & Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 3
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Additional warnings apply. However I left them out of the tags to avoid spoiling the story before it is finished. I will go back and add them once the entire fic has been posted.  
> If you want to stay on the safe side, please check the full warnings in the author's notes at the end.

“ _Firstly, may Valdo Marx, the Troubadour of Cidaris, be struck down with apoplexy and die.” - Episode 1x04 “Bottled Appetites”_

* * *

~*~

Prologue

~*~

After the encounter with the djinn. After waking up from the first good night's sleep he has had in ages. After coming to in a room full of debris in a half collapsed house. After saying goodbye (for now) to Yennefer – though he knows they will see each other again in the future.

After all this, Geralt goes to find Jaskier. To see that the bard is truly recovered from the djinn's attack. But also because there is a question that has been niggling at the back of Geralt's brain, ever since Jaskier spoke his first wish to the djinn. Just who is Valdo Marx exactly and why is it that Jaskier wants him dead so badly.

Little does Geralt know that the bard has been telling him the answer to this question for years, if only the witcher had cared to listen.

* * *

~*~

Chapter One

~*~

Following the job in Posada with his encounter with the Sylvan and the Elves, Geralt of Rivia gains a travelling companion. To the end of his days, he will never be quite certain how that happened. He'd been determined to leave the bard behind in town, when they returned to Upper Posada. Or when they reached Lower Posada at the latest. Yet somehow that just – doesn't happen.

Jaskier promises to try and change Geralt's reputation through the power of his songs alone. Which must either be a joke or hubris of the highest order. Geralt was decidedly not impressed by the first performance he'd heard of the bard in the tavern where they met.

But as days go by the witcher has to admit that the song the bard composes of their encounter with the elves is catchy. (Annoyingly so.) Even if it is not particularly truthful to the actual events. And so are quite a few of the other songs that Jaskier performs in taverns, marketplaces and really anywhere on the road where the mood seems to strike him.

The bard's playing and performing is so much improved in fact, that Geralt begins to wonder if this might be a supernatural effect. Filavendrel's own lute that he gifted to Jaskier in recompense – maybe it is more than just a superior instrument?

However, when he does some light probing, Geralt can sense no magic on the lute and his wolf medallion remains quiet in its presence. Nothing ill or magical that he can detect. Nothing special about the lute at all. Although that probably is not what Jaskier would say about his new instrument from the way he caresses it and calls it his sexy mistress. The lute is lovingly handled and wiped down with a soft cloth every evening, whether there's been a performance or not. The instrument's case is in better shape than Jaskier's boots and clothing, and literally never out of reach. Geralt might be more tempted to comment on these facts, were he not aware that the same can be said about himself and his swords.

And so it is that over the following weeks, months and years Geralt witnesses Jaskier becoming a much better bard and performer. Throughout their journeys together the witcher is present for the conception and creation of many new verses and songs that Jaskier writes. A good deal of them are about Geralt himself, adventure and monsters. But not all of the songs are about the life of a witcher; not by a long shot. It seems there is no subject under the sun that the bard can't (attempt to) turn into a song.

Not all songs that Geralt hears being written also end up being performed in front of wider audience. It takes years for Geralt to understand that these songs? Are the most important ones.


	2. Chapter 2

~*~

It was a remarkably fine day in late spring; not a cloud in the sky and the air rich with the scent of blooming greenery. Geralt had stopped only a few hours past noon and set up camp in a meadow by a little stream. The witcher had spent the night before tracking a nightwraith and it had almost been daybreak by the time he'd managed to kill it. He hadn't bothered to collect any trophies as proof this time round. There'd been no contract. He'd seen the signs of the infestation along the road and decided to do what he did best. As he'd told Jaskier when he first met him: sometimes there's monsters, sometimes there's money; rarely there's both.

And while Geralt could certainly travel all day with no sleep the previous night, there was no actual need to. They had nowhere in particular to be, no contracts to fulfill and no set dates for performances. Nothing but the open road ahead of them and no reason to rush on the way; so they just didn't. Jaskier had certainly not complained and even Roach seemed pleased with the respite.

The horse was slowly but methodically making its way across the meadow, nibbling on the young grass and the occasional wildflower. Jaskier had installed himself on a rock next to the brook and was – of course – plucking at his lute. For once, Geralt could not bring himself to mind. He was stretched out in the sun, head propped up on his pack, eyes closed. Soft, dulcet tones that blended with the gurgling of running water, the humming of insects, twittering birds in the bushes, Roach's occasional snorts in the distance. All combined with the sun warming his skin without being overbearingly hot. Glorious. Geralt let himself drift. He wasn't meditating or thinking, just dozing contentedly.

The witcher couldn't really tell when Jaskier's aimless plucking became a genuine melody, still light and sweet. He vaguely noticed when the bard began accompanying the melody with words. It was obviously a new creation that Jaskier was working on, because the words came out haltingly. Some lines were repeated with more conviction, others dropped entirely after being tried out. The ballad appeared to be about a fair maiden.

Geralt managed to contain the instinctual snort so it came out as only a slightly stronger exhale. Of course Jaskier would be inspired by the beautiful day to sing about comely maidens, celebrating the coming of spring.

The witcher let the sounds wash over him without really paying attention. Yet the music and the words wormed their way into his light doze. The beautiful lady, hair of ebony and eyes the colour of the sky. The sky still cloudless above them in the field. A lovely girl, young, pure, full of dreams and poetry and loved by all. A songbird whistling to attract a mate. The girl and her sisters, dancing at a feast to greet the new season. The smell of flowers tickling Geralt's nose. The fair lady, happy and lively like the flower she was named for. The melody of the song, gentle and unobtrusive. A carefree name for a carefree girl – Buttercup. A strange sense of melancholy that wound its way into the chords pulled from the lute. A yearning for better days gone by. The sun prickling warm on his skin. Eventually Geralt let himself give in and slept.

* * *

~*~

The evening had been a success by both Geralt's and Jaskier's standards. Geralt's because he'd encountered little hostility in the village and was left to enjoy his meal and drinks in peace. And Jaskier's because his songs had been welcomed gladly as entertainment by the patrons of the inn and had even earned him enough coin to pay for several nights' worth of food and lodging.

The bard, still flustered from the last encore and the roaring applause, took a seat opposite the witcher and gratefully accepted the mug of ale he was given.

“What a night.” He wet his throat with a gulp and gestured grandly. “I feel like these people are really appreciating my music here. Even the ballads that are not about you, your adventuring, monsters and bloodshed in general.” By now Jaskier had quite the repertoire of songs he'd written himself to chose from.

“Hmm.” Geralt sipped his drink. Through sheer force of exposure and repetition he'd become familiar enough with all of Jaskier's songs. Even if he still wouldn't call himself qualified to judge their musical merit. But food and drink had made the witcher mellow and so he offered some additional commentary of his his own regarding the bard's favourite topics – himself and his music.

“You never play that flower girl song.”

“Flower girl song?” Jaskier cocked his head to side, evidently confused.

“The one you wrote in the spring, in the meadow. The girl with the flower name.” Geralt rooted around his memory for a second. “Buttercup.”

Surprisingly, Jaskier's face shuttered at the mention of the name. “Oh. That song.”

“Hmm,” Geralt prompted, mustering the bard expectantly.

“That song is...” Jaskier appeared to be floundering, his eyes looking everywhere except at Geralt. “... it's... it's not really for... for the general public.”

“Hmm,” a non-committal grunt, accompanied by a light smirk. “You didn't write it down and forgot the words, didn't you, bard?”

That brought Jaskier's full attention back to the witcher. He gave a brief, ugly laugh and clutched his ale tighter.

“No, dear witcher, believe me, that is a song I will never forget.”

Before Geralt could make a reply, Jaskier downed the rest of his drink in one giant gulp and hurriedly stood up to get himself another. Actually several others. All of which he proceeded to drink down in quick succession directly at the bar, with his back turned firmly towards the witcher.

Well Geralt could take a hint. No more constructive criticism regarding the song selection. Noted.

**Author's Note:**

> Additional warnings for: transformation, involuntary sex change, body horror. Might contain triggers surrounding gender identity issues. (None of these warnings apply to the first chapter.)


End file.
